Katherine Stewart, journalist and author of The Good News Club: The Christian Right’s Stealth Assault on America’s Children will speak in Portland, OR on June 9. Her topic, "How Religious Fundamentalism Threatens Oregon's Public Schools."

When the parents of an Indiana high school sophomore complained that their son was subjected to coercive prayers at multiple school events, officials were less than sympathetic to the family’s First Amendment concerns.

To say the family’s protest fell on deaf ears would be far too generous. In fact, one school administrator went so far as to blame the student for not accepting the sectarian messages in silence. Read more

The headline is perhaps a bit hyperbolic. The column, by John Lloyd, co-founder of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford, is a thoughtful analysis of how quickly the Catholic Church’s influence has fallen in Ireland – and why that has happened. Read more

Nevada has adopted a sweeping expansion of its school choice program, making individual savings accounts available to parents sending children to sectarian and even home schools. The WashingtonPost reports that parents will have $5,000 at their disposal to use on state-approved educational materials, including tuition, books and transportation. Gov. Read more

Greene County, Mo., police cars now read “In God We Trust,” and some residents aren’t pleased by the change.

In a letter to the Springfield News-Leader’s “Answer Man,” Laura Entwisle wrote, “I recently saw a Greene County sheriff's deputy's car with letters on the bumper that say, ‘In God We Trust.’ I called the sheriff's office and was told that Sheriff Jim Arnott decided to do this.” Read more

South Carolina’s second-highest paid employee was in a bit of a predicament last week. He has been accused in the past of using taxpayer money to proselytize, and now he finds himself under fire thanks to an award from an organization with a history of attacking LGBT rights. Read more

The public (63%) does not support private school vouchers: every time a voucher program has been put to a vote in the past 45 years, the voters have rejected it. Despite this disapproval, Governors around the country are trying to push private school voucher policies through bills and state budgets. Read more

The Tea Party and other far-right groups speak often of their love for the Constitution. But for all their talk about America’s foundational document, many of these zealots understand our laws about as well as an average kindergartner. That is why it’s always a pleasure when a political leader rejects these stilted views. Read more